Hell & Back
by FangedLovers
Summary: "Cause I went to hell and back just to be where I am today." Stiles/OC 5X01-02 'Tried & True Series'


Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf; only Cassidy and the world surrounding her.

Hell & Back - Tonight Alive

 **I'm Back!**

 **What's up everybody! I hope you all are having a fantastic summer so far!**

 **If you haven't read my stories before this, I would definitely go back and read them through to understand what's going on.**

 **So this story is based on 5X01-02 so SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE NEW EPISODES!**

 **Welcome Back to Cassidy Snyder's World!**

* * *

 **Hell & Back**

 _So I packed up a bag and went_  
 _Two months in the sun I spent_  
 _I woke up everyday and smiled_  
 _Because I wanna be alive, well don't you?_  
 _There's no use in feeling low_  
 _But I never let myself down_  
 _So bad, so bad_  
 _But I never thought I'd have_  
 _The things I have, I have, that I have_

 _Cause it was the heaviest rain I ever felt on my skin_  
 _It was the heaviest place that I have ever been in_  
 _As the walls crashed down I felt it slip away_  
 _Cause I went to hell and back just to be where I am today._

Bi-polar 2 disorder, or manic depression, is a form of mental illness. A person affected by bipolar 2 disorder has had at least one manic episode in their life. A manic episode is described as a period of abnormally elevated mood and high energy. But this person suffers from episodes of depression more often. There is a cycling between mania and depression.

That is the medical definition that you can find anywhere. What they don't tell you is how low those depression episodes can go or how long they would last. What they don't tell you is that when you feel happy one day and you think you're having a manic episode you're actually just feeling 'normal'. Whatever normal is.

They say to take your medication and you will get a handle on things. What they don't tell you is the side effects of said medication. That for the first few days all you'll want to do is sleep. You will have no appetite or will power to even drink water out of a straw. They don't tell you that it feels like you can feel your skin crawling.

But you pull through it.

Cassidy can say that for a fact. Six weeks in Arizona had her go through a whirlwind. The first week there she was willing and up for anything they asked of her. She went to her daily meetings and the activities that were offered. The second week, however, was painful. For a few days she stayed locked up in her room whenever she had free time. Her room along with the entire facility was very nice.

But her bed was her safe haven. A few of the girls told her it was normal to come off of such a high into what she felt. Her feelings were set on going home. She just wanted to be back in Beacon Hills and be with her family and friends. She wasn't allowed contact with anyone outside of Cottonwood. She got to talk to her parents and siblings every Sunday for only an hour. She got to talk to Isaac a few times by insisting to the staff that he was her brother, which was true enough. She also snuck in two calls to Lydia but that had been it. Her phone was taken away from her on admission so she could heal.

By the end of the third week though she had pulled herself out of the funk she had found herself in. And for once in her life she was opening up and talking. Her favorite thing that they let her do was a rock climbing wall and archery. Her day was planned out from 7AM to 10:30PM and she was grateful for it. It was incredibly hot in Arizona in the summer, being near or over 100 degrees every day, but she loved it. It was almost calming to her.

That was the thing she liked the most about this facility was this wasn't just a place to get use to your medication and then you were out. They worked through your mind and body so that you didn't become dependent on your medication but also knew how it helped you. Each psychiatrist and doctor worked with each patient in their own way.

And here she was last day being in Cottonwood. She had officially made it six weeks and she was proud to say she was happy. Not with the fact that she was leaving or that she stuck through it, but with herself. She had learned a lot about herself and she felt like a stronger person because of it. Cassidy had made herself happy. She fell in love with herself. It was still going to take work to keep this up once she returned home, but she was willing to keep this work up.

So here she was packing up her items, ready to move on with her life.

"Knock, knock."

Cassidy turned her head to the voice that came from the doorway behind her, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Can I come in?" The women smiled back at her.

"Of course, Jesse." Cassidy nodded and went back to folding her clothes in to her suitcase.

Jesse was Cassidy's mentor while she was there. She was in her late thirties with light spiked blonde hair and an 'I don't give a fuck' attitude exactly what Cassidy needed to keep her ass in line. But she was an actual sweetheart once you knew her. She was a skinny little spitfire.

"How you doin' sweetpea?" Her southern drawl shining through.

"I feel good."

"Yeah? Because you're headed home?"

"Sorta. I'm more excited about that…and really nervous at the same time." She pulled her curly locks up on top of her head. Her hair had grown so long over the summer and she was in desperate need of a trim.

"What's making you nervous?" Jesse sat on the bed next to the suitcase.

"A lot of things." Cassidy shrugged. "What if I relapse? What if I lose myself again?" She was speaking without thinking as her packing increased. "What if my symptoms worsen and I can't control it anymore?"

"Hey." The older women carefully grabbed the girl's hands making her movements stop. "Look at me, Cassidy. You have come such a long way since you got here. You're smiling just to smile. When's the last time you can remember doing that?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly. Do you think you're going to have a problem going home?"

Cassidy shook her head. "No, I'm just…I'm over thinking everything. Story of my life."

"You are a lot stronger that you give yourself credit for." Jesse rubbed the younger girl's shoulders before the two started packing up her belongings again. "I bet you're excited to see your friends and family though."

"Beyond excited. I can't wait to see my brother and sister." A smile lit up Cassidy's face again as she pulled a photo off the wall of the three siblings to pack away.

Despite the restrictions of what she was allowed to have with her, she was permitted to have pictures. The wall above her bed was littered with photos. It made her feel like she was actually doing this. It gave her hope that she knew when she got home there were people that that would support her. She carefully pulled them off the wall, making sure the tack didn't rip them. She left her favorite for last. It was a stupid photo of Stiles and her. It was just of their smiles and she was in love with it.

"You miss him?"

Cassidy's attention turned back to Jesse and nodded. "This is the longest I've ever gone without seeing him." Cassidy had told her about Stiles. It was another part of her therapy, along with talking about her friends. But Stiles was a major topic that they discussed and dissected. "Even with the breakup he was still around. It's just weird."

"Have you made up your decision for when you get home?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Jesse zipped up her suitcase, "are you going back to him or going to wait?"

Cassidy nodded her head and placed the photos in her backpack. "I want to be with him if he still wants to be with me. But I'm definitely not jumping back into a relationship either. We have so much to talk about."

"Are you going to tell him about your time here?"

"Yeah. I owe that to him. I love him and he deserves to know everything." It was true. She loved him deeply still and she wanted them to have an honest relationship if they were going to try again.

Jesse couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the girl's words. "Look at you. Going into your senior year, almost 18, and talking like an adult. I am so proud of you, girly."

"Well you helped me a lot." Cassidy shrugged, putting her bags on the floor. "I really wouldn't have been able to do this without you pushing me." She looked at her mentor with pure admiration. "Thank you so much."

"Oh, sweet pea." Jesse pulled the younger girl into her arms for a big hug. "I'm going to miss you, but I'm so happy you are going home. You are by far my favorite."

"I bet you say that to all your mentees." Cassidy smirked into her shoulder.

"Alright, smartass." The mentor pulled away. "Good to know your personality hasn't changed." She winked.

"I have to so that I can keep up with my friends."

Jesse's phone went off and the two knew what that meant. "I guess this is it." They had to get going so they didn't miss her plane.

"Guess so." Cassidy looked around her room and under the bed to make sure she had everything. "Looks like that's it."

"Alrighty, let's get moving." Jesse grabbed her biggest bag and walked out.

Cassidy took her time as she grabbed the rest of her things, taking in as much as she could remember. She said goodbye to some of the people she had befriended as she walked out. It was like a summer camp ending but the difference was some would never come back or some might not be leaving for a very long time. She threw her bags in the back of the van before hopping in the passenger seat next to Jesse.

"Here, by the way." Jesse held out a few items in her hand.

Cassidy's heart began to pump fast in excitement as she grabbed her iPod and cell phone. She was more excited about her iPod then her phone. She hadn't been able to listen to her music for six weeks. She took back anything she said before, because that was the hardest part. She couldn't wait to get on the plane just so she could close her eyes and relish in some good bass beats. The only music that was played in Cottonwood was Top 40 radio and it was painful.

"I've never seen a person so in love with an inanimate object before." Jesse laughed as they started down the road.

"This is my child. Don't make fun." Cassidy joked and held the item close to her chest in exaggeration.

She turned on her phone finally and it vibrated in her palm for a few minutes as all the text messages and notifications came piling in. A lot were her friends telling her they missed her or something random they wanted to tell her. All of them making her smile and laugh to herself.

In a few short hours she would be home. And she was happier than ever before.

* * *

She had been back in Beacon Hills for less than 24 hours and her mother had already cried 5 times out of happiness, her father had already asked the same type of questions multiple times, she had watched 5 hours of Adventure Time with her brother, and had read her sister 10 fairytales. Things that had might have annoyed her before, she was sucking up all the time in these things now.

At the moment, the Snyder family was all out for a late breakfast at the diner in town. They hadn't had this much family time in who knows how long. But they would go back to being busy again with school starting in a few days.

"We're going to need to go school shopping today." Teresa announced to the table as they were halfway through their meals.

"Ugh!" Andy groaned and let his head fall back. "Do I have to go back to school?"

"You're in eighth grade. You kinda like own the middle school now." Carl told his son, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Carl." Teresa slapped her husband's shoulder. "Don't tell him that."

"Yeah dad. You thought he was bad last year, just wait now." Cassidy smirked across the table at her brother.

"Everything I did last year I did for a reason." Andy shrugged and stuffed pancakes into his mouth.

"And almost lighting your teacher's hair on fire was for what reason?" His mother raised her eyebrows at him.

"She had a really bad haircut that I wanted to save her from."

Carl and Cassidy couldn't help but chuckle at his response but quickly shut up when Teresa's glare set upon them. "Your son." She pointed at the older man.

"Do I get to go school shopping?" Kara spoke up from her spot at the table.

"Of course, Kar." Cassidy smiled brightly at the girl. "First graders need lots of cool stuff."

"Like what?" The young blonde asked her older sister with big eyes.

"Well you need tons of crayons, some stickers, and not to mention an awesome backpack."

"Really?" Her hair whipped around as she looked at her mother. "Can we get that stuff, mama?"

"Of course, baby."

The thought of school shopping reminded Cassidy of a promise she had made to Lydia before she left. Cassidy bit her lip, no wanting to say something wrong to upset her mother. "Is it okay if I skip out on it? I kinda promised Lydia we would go together." She created designs with her fork on the plate in the syrup.

"That's no problem, Cas." Carl answered.

Cassidy's eyes were watching her mother's expression though, but she was relieved to see a smile and nod.

"But I get you when we go shopping for college."

"Oh God!" Carl groaned like his son did earlier. "That is a year away. Let the poor girl just get through senior year."

"Yeah yeah." Teresa rolled her eyes. "I'm actually surprised Lydia hasn't been over yet."

"I told her I get back later. I was going to surprise her soon, that's if we don't have anything planned." Cassidy pulled her phone out checking the time. "I know I just got back-"

"Cassidy we understand you want to see your friends." Carl smiled at his daughter. "We're just happy your home and you're happy."

The girl bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile. "I'm very happy."

* * *

As Cassidy pulled up to the Martin house she felt ridiculously anxious. Not in a nervous way, but in excitement to see her best friend. It still surprised her that those words even coincided with the two. Two years ago they weren't even on speaking terms and now six weeks apart and she was so freaking stoked to see her friend.

Mrs. Martin let Cassidy in and told the girl her daughter was back by the pool. With a thanks, Cassidy walked through the house and found the strawberry blonde sitting on one of the pool chairs. She had some magazines spread out on the chair in front of her with her sunglasses covering her face. She hadn't seen Lydia Martin this much at ease for a very long time.

"So is this all you've been doing since I left?" Cassidy finally made her entrance known.

Lydia's head flew up so fast, she could have sworn it was going to snap off of her shoulders. "You bitch!" She screeched, throwing the magazine down and hopping up from her seat. "You told me you weren't getting in until later!"

"Surprise!" Cassidy dropped her bag on the table. The two girls basically jumped onto each other, wrapping their arms so incredibly tight around the other one.

"You suck."

"Shut up. You missed me."

"Didn't say I didn't." Lydia finally let her friend go and smiled at her.

"Besides," Cassidy shrugged her shoulders, "didn't I promise you a school shopping trip?"

"It's like you're reading my mind right now."

And that's what the two did. Walked up and down the main street going from store to store, not buying much, just catching up. It was kind of liberating. And Cassidy was just happy that she had Lydia be the first one to fill her in on everything.

"And where is Kira?" Cassidy asked as the two walked down the sidewalk.

"Oh, her and the family went off to New York a week or two after you left."

"I bet Scott loved that."

"I don't know. I still don't think he has officially called her his girlfriend yet." Lydia rolled her eyes at their friend.

"Are you kidding me? That boy needs to grow a pair."

"Scott McCall is anything but suave." The two girls giggled.

Cassidy hesitated, playing with the straps of her bag. "So..um…how is-"

"Your boyfriend?" Lydia smirked at her.

"Not my boyfriend, Lyd."

"Stiles is good. He's been more anxious than usual, it's been kind of annoying. But that must be because he knew the love of his life was coming back in town."

Cassidy couldn't keep the blush from forming on her cheeks. "I think you're the annoying one."

"Shut up. You missed me." Lydia mocked the words said to her earlier.

"You have no idea."

She wrapped her arm through Cassidy's. "Okay, enough is enough. Tell me about your treatment. How was it? Because those 2 brief as hell phone calls didn't give me anything."

"It was the best thing I've ever done. I mean it was hard, it still is hard to keep up with it, but I feel healthier and stronger and just…"

"Happier?" Lydia finished for her.

"So much. I didn't realize I could be this happy all the time. It's so refreshing."

"I'm so happy for you, Cassi. And Arizona did you well. I mean, you look killer with that dark tan."

She laughed at the girl's words. Cassidy went to walk into the next store but noticed Lydia wasn't following her. She watched as the girl's eyes followed the Beacon Hills Police truck drive on by. But it wasn't just any normal officer in the car.

"What's going on with you and Parrish?"

"What?" Lydia turned her attention back to the girl in front of her acting as if nothing was happening.

"You just stared him down with the look of lust in your eyes like you were going to go pounce on the top of that truck." Cassidy was not going to let this one go so easily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Banshee crossed her arms with a shrug.

"Don't play coy with me, Lydia Martin. What's going on with you and the deputy?"

"Nothing. I'm just trying to help him figure out what he is."

Cassidy laughed and shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, fine. Play dumb with me, but I'll be here when you want to spill the beans of the crazy love affair happening between you two."

* * *

She knocked on the door with the feeling of her nerves just sitting in the pit of her stomach. She need to do this and get it over with now. And there was no turning back now that the door was opening.

"Hey Sheriff!" She smiled brightly up at the man at the door.

"Cassidy." The older man said in almost disbelief. He didn't even let the girl get another word in before pulling her into a tight hug. "How are you doing?"

"So good." She smiled into his shoulder over the warmth she felt immediately.

He let her go and quickly ushered her in the house to keep the air conditioning in the house. "The spaz that is my son is upstairs in his room."

"How do you know I'm not here just to see you? I've missed our talks." Cassidy joked with the older man.

"Funny girl." He shook his head at her with a smile. "Please go calm down him down, he's been walking a hole through my floor waiting for you to get back."

She did as she was told and walked up the wooden stair case that she hadn't used since the night she came back from Paris. His door was open and she watched him throw clothes about, seeming like he was trying to clean up his room but wasn't doing too well at it.

"I clearly showed up at a bad time."

Stiles stopped all of his movement and whipped his body around to see her. His eyes were so wide, she thought they were going to fall out of his head. "Jesus…"

He finally regained feeling in his body and rushed over to her, enveloping her in a big hug. She squealed in delight as he pulled her so close to him, her arms wrapping tight around his neck. "Hi!"

"Oh my God. I thought I'd never hear your voice again." His voice light as it swirled heavenly into her ear.

"Same." She slowly let him go and gave him such a big smile looking up at him. "You got a haircut." She raked her fingers through the front of his gelled spikes.

"Too short?" His hands stayed firmly on her waist.

"Not as short as your buzz cut days."

They simply looked at each other for a few seconds, trying to memorize everything that had changed since the last time they had seen each other.

"So what's up?" Stiles let her go, walk back to lean against his desk. "Not that I'm not happy you're here, cause I am. I just thought I would see you later."

"So..I um…have something for you." She pulled a piece of paper out of her back pocket. "It's something that was part of my therapy." Cassidy began fiddling with the corners; still unsure if she wanted to actually hand it over.

"Should I be worried?" He rose an eyebrow at her uneasiness.

"No!" Her words came out quickly. "I mean, that depends I guess how you take it when you read it." She sighed one last time before finally handing the folded paper to him.

He carefully took it from her hands and unfolded it. The first thing he noticed was his name written in her loopy handwriting at the top. It was a letter to him.

"You really don't have to read it if you don't want to." She shook her head, closing her eyes in the process so she didn't have to see his expression.

He finally took his eyes off the sheet to look up at her. His focus was no longer on the words but just on her. He missed her. He had missed her so much that just her in his presences felt so comfortable. "Do you want me to read it?" He finally found her bright blue eyes again as she opened them to look at him.

"I think if we…if we are going to have any future at all, you should read it."

And there were the words the two of them have wanted out.

"Okay." Stiles nodded his head and let the letter rest against his desk.

"Alright." Cassidy rubbed her hands together and started looking around. "Well then I guess I'll see you later, because I do not want to be around when you read it." She laughed casually at her words, hoping to break the small amount of tension between.

Stiles got his act together as she was almost at the doorway. "Hey, could I pick up tonight?"

"Definitely." She smiled at him. "I'll catch you later, Stilinski."

He smiled as she walked out the door. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears for that small amount of time together again. He was still so in deep with that girl. Stiles cleared his throat and picked up the letter from his desk. He let his body fall back against bed and got comfortable before he started in.

 _Stiles,_

 _It's crazy to think about how much has changed since we met each other that summer day outside of the therapy office before the start of freshman year. We've gone from complete strangers, to acquaintances, to friends, to lovers, and to enemies. I don't think enemies is the right word, but from my point of view of the things that had happen a few months back I was as low as it could get to you and everyone around us._

 _I fucked up. I messed up everything we had and built from over a year in just a matter of a week. I was the problem. I was the issue at hand. At least that's what I use to think. It's funny how clearer my head is now that I understand what the actual problem is. And guess what, bipolar disorder sucks, but from a result of understanding who I am, I'm becoming happy. For the first time in my life I love myself._

 _But you, Stiles Stilinski, you are the love of my goddamn life. And I did this for the both of us also. I wanted to be healthier for myself, to understand myself, to be content with myself. But you were always on the back of my mind during every hardship and every improvement. I wanted to call you up and tell you everything that was happening. Sadly I couldn't though because that was against the rules._

 _But I wrote down every thought I had when it was something I wanted to tell you. And I want to tell you every little bit of what happen while I was in treatment. That is if you still even want me by your side. I understand if you don't, but I at least want your friendship hopefully._

 _Anyways,_

 _Thank You For Being You._

 _-Cas_

And in very Cassidy fashion there were lyrics written on the bottom.

 _I'm not together, but I'm getting there. I am in repair. – John Mayer_

* * *

"I remember Senior Scribe." Teresa sighed leaning back on the couch. "Me and your aunt Rose got there so late because we were dr-"

Cassidy rose an eyebrow at her mother as she cut off her own story, knowing it wasn't something you shouldn't be telling your daughter. "You were so what, mama?" She smirked at her mother.

The older blonde cleared her throat and shook her head with a smile. "Nothing, just have fun."

Cassidy's heart nearly jumped out of her chest as the doorbell rang. She was beyond excited right now. "Alright, that's Stiles." She grabbed her bag from the chair. "I'll see you guys later."

"Be careful, it's a full moon." Carl sat down next to his wife.

"That's still so weird for you to say." Cassidy chuckled and opened the door to step out. She closed the door and found Stiles leaning at the porch railing with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Should would be lying if she said she didn't check him out. Goddamn, she missed just looking at him. "Hey." She smiled, stepping up next to him.

His own grin spread across his face at the sight of her. "Hi." He pulled his hands out and pushed himself into a standing position. "You ready?"

"Definitely." She nodded and the two descended down the steps, his hand lightly resting on the small of her back. There was still a type of awkwardness between them, and she couldn't guess if that was just because they were awkward or he had read the letter. It was pushed to the back of her mind when her sight landed on two boys leaning again the jeep. "Well look at this sight for sore eyes." Her smirk growing at Scott and Liam.

When they were a few steps away, Liam charged forward and pulled her into a tight hug that she couldn't help but giggle through. "I missed you." Liam mumbled into her ear.

"I missed you more, kid." She smiled into his shoulder. She carefully let him go and looked him over. "I feel like you grew up five years since the last time I saw you."

"I've been working out." He joked with her.

"Mhmm, sure, that's it." She pushed his shoulder and looked over at Scott. "And you, my dear, have not changed a bit."

"I've got a new jacket." Scott adjusted the flaps of the jean jacket he was wearing. She rolled her eyes and bounced over to wrap her arms around the alpha's neck. Scott pulled her off her feet and squeezed her even closer to him. He finally let her feet touch the ground. Something Scott noticed was how much her eyes were shining and the only complete emotion he could get from her was in a sense of happiness. "You look so good, Cassi."

"Yeah, she does." Stiles whispered from the other side of the Jeep. His eyes widened as the three looked over at him, basically letting him know that they heard his comment. "Okay, let's get going." Stiles basically threw himself into the driver's seat, a deep blush forming on his cheeks.

The three quickly made their way into the jeep and they took off. What Cassidy was expecting on heading to the school, wasn't the direction they were taking. They were headed to the overlook point in the woods since she guessed that Liam was still having problems with the full moon. She felt really bad for the boy as Scott and Stiles chained and handcuffed him to the giant tree, but she rather not get ripped apart her first night back with everyone.

Scott and herself sat on top of the Jeep's hood as Stiles stood beside her, a map of California laid out next to her. The talk of life beyond high school between them, which actually made her incredibly nervous. She hadn't thought about her future plans in a long time, and it made her feel like she was behind on her life.

"All right," Stiles tapped his pen against the paper, "so I found some cool two bedrooms in the Mission district, but they're pretty expensive. A couple in Haight-Ashbury…also expensive."

"What about Berkeley?" Scott looked over at his best friend. "Don't law students live around there?"

"Yeah, yeah. We can try Nob Hill but the jeep would probably burn through a lot of clutches."

"You're bringing the jeep?" Scott voice sounded completely surprised.

Cassidy looked over at the boy sitting next to her with a raised eyebrow. "Stiles? Not bring the jeep? What are you smoking McCall?"

"Thank you, Cassidy. At least I know someone listens to me." He glared at Scott and tapped her leg with the pen in appreciation. "You know the plan, okay. No one gets left behind. That's the plan." Stiles' voice was full of determination, but there was something else also there. "Lydia's not going to have a problem getting into Stanford, Kira's thinking USF, Malia's…a gonna…you know, she'll figure something out." Stiles pushed the subject off.

Cassidy sighed and kept watching the lightning that was over their town. "And I don't have a fucking clue what I'm doing."

Stiles rested his hand over hers. The simple contact sending shivers down her spine. "Don't worry about it, okay. We got you." He was desperately trying to make sure those bad thoughts of hers didn't ride through her brain again. "The plan is perfect."

Scott shrugged. "Or we could wait til we actually get into college and the figure out where to live?"

"I have a vision, dude. Okay, and it's a beautiful vision. Don't ruin the vision."

"Yeah, Scott." She slapped the boy's shoulder jokingly. "Don't ruin the vision." Scott chuckled with her, but they both quickly shut up as Stiles' glared at them.

The poor boy dropped his head back to look at the map where there were red circles all over the place. "Okay, we can check out the east bay. Haven't looked at Oakland yet."

"Oh, Fox Theater's in Oakland." She hummed in appreciation and took notice to Stiles looking at her confused. "What? I know cities by concert venues. Leave me be."

Stiles snickered with a shake of his head. "You are so adorable."

She might not have a clue what she wanted to do after senior year, but she did know her friends were on the list of things she was sure about. And Stiles was right at the top.

"You alright, you starting to feel it?" Stiles' voice broke her concentration and she turned to see Scott looking up at the full moon above them.

"No, I was just thinking." Scott shook his head.

"About what?" Cassidy watched his profile.

"Senior year."

"Senior year?" Stiles' smile returned to his face. "Come on. Th-that's nothing. That's gonna be easy."

Scott sighed and sat up from his lounged position. "It's more of something Deaton told me once." The other two knew automatically Scott was starting to think of the bad things in life. "You ever hear of regression to the mean?"

Cassidy shook her head with a frown, while Stiles answered for the two. "No. I don't think so."

"It's basically his way of saying that life can't ever be all bad or all good. You know, eventually things have to come back to the middle. So I'm thinking about the last few months." Scott shrugged. "Things have been good, right? But not amazing."

"Yeah, but," Stiles moved his hand from Cassidy's to now rest lightly on her thigh, "Cassidy wasn't in a good place or here with us for that matter. I don't think that's a good part."

"I'm not saying that either, I'm just saying for the most part we've been safe."

"I don't get it."

Cassidy grabbed Stiles' hand. "He means that no one has been on the hunt to kill us. I mean, despite Travis who was just a sociopath, there's been no supernatural crazies on our tail." She explained.

"Exactly." Scott nodded at her with a small smile. "We've been pretty much in the middle for a while. Which means at some point the scale has to tip one way or another. Things are going to get really good again…"

"Or really bad." Stiles mumbled out.

The sky lit up again with lightning strikes. Each time coming closer and closer to them. Cassidy's concentration was on the boy behind them that was still chained to the tree. "Don't you guys think it's been long enough?" Her head swiveling back and forth to the two.

"Yes!" Liam called out in a cry of annoyance.

"Hey!" Stiles yelled at him. "Trying to have an adult conversation over here."

"Alright, you're two years older than me and I'm fine." His eyebrows were raised almost up to his hairline. "Just let me go."

"I think we should let him go." Cassidy agreed with the poor beta.

Scott nodded in agreement while Stiles sighed in irritation. Scott slide off the jeep and rummaged through his pockets for the key. Cassidy helped Stiles fold his map back up before he helped her off the front. It was as if the two were trying to do anything possible to just touch each other without being ridiculously obvious about it.

"It's not that we don't trust you." Scott sighed and the three walked back over to the giant tree.

"It's that I don't trust you." Stiles raised his hand. Cassidy rolled her eyes and hip checked him.

"But after that last full moon…" Scott explained to his beta.

"What happen during the last full moon?" Cassidy crossed her arms in question.

"It was one slip up." Liam pleaded.

"Slip up?" Stiles nearly laughed at the way he described it. "A dozen calls to the sheriff's department about a monstrous dog-boy running around the streets of Beacon Hills naked. That's a slip up?"

Cassidy rubbed her forehead in embarrassment for the boy. "Oh, Liam."

Scott stopped unlocking him for his own question. "Why were you naked?"

Liam groaned. "It was really hot outside, okay? Let me go."

"You sure you're okay?"

"It won't happen again."

Scott nodded, but still not completely believing the boy. "You're in complete and total control?"

Liam hesitated but nodded. "Yeah, complete and total."

With that the two older boys undid the chains and put them back in bag. The four slowly made their way back to the Jeep, getting back in to head back to town. Cassidy took notice to the way Liam kept tightening his hands and then putting them in his hoodie pocket. She wanted to ask him, but she had a feeling it would be better to ask when the other two boys weren't around.

"So what now?" The young beta asked leaning forward in his seat.

"We're taking your punk ass home." Stiles said, turning back on the real road finally.

"What? Why?" Liam's voice almost came out as a whine. "But Cas just got home."

"And we have things to do. Adult things."

Scott snorted from the passenger seat but kept his eyes on his phone.

"Like what? Gotta get those taxes done?"

Cassidy couldn't hold back the laugh at Liam's cynical response. It was good to see that Stiles and him were just as sarcastic to each other as ever. "We just have some stuff we need to do at the school at midnight."

"Is it a party?" Liam's eyes lit up.

"It is not a party." Stiles responded.

"What's at midnight?"

"Your bedtime."

The glare Liam was directing towards Stiles could have burned through his skull. "Why aren't the other girls going?"

"They're meeting us there." Stiles responses were getting quicker, which means we was getting more and more annoyed. "Can't you just stop asking questions? Alright? It's a senior thing. You'll know when you're a senior."

Cassidy squeezed the younger boy's shoulder in support as his head dropped in defeat.

"Are you guys having trouble with your phones?" Scott finally spoke up.

Just as the words left his lips the jeep completely turned off, making rickety noise, and drifting to a stop. "What the hell?" Stiles looked around the dashboard.

"Are we out of gas?" Cassidy leaned forward so she could see the dashboard as well.

"No, it's electrical." Stiles angrily turned the key in of the ignition off. "It's probably the alternator again." Stiles and Scott both got out of the car to check it out.

Cassidy took this as her opportunity to talk to Liam. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine." He shrugged his shoulders at her question and dug through his pockets for his iPod.

"Really?" She rose an eyebrow at him. Before he could do anything she grabbed a hold of his wrist and pun his hand around. She saw his fingertips bloody where he had been digging his nails into his palm. "It's okay to not be okay Liam."

The boy sighed and shook his head. "I should be better by now. I should have better control."

"What's your anchor?"

"Music." He held up the player to show her.

Cassidy smiled and took one of the earbuds. "You sure you aren't my real brother?"

Liam grinned back and put his own in as he searched for a song. Before he could hit play a loud crash sounded behind them. The two turned around to look out the back window to see smoke rising from a spot on the ground steadily. "Guys." Liam called to the other two, while Cassidy's eyes were still glued to behind them. She grabbed a tight hold of Liam's arm as another bolt of lightning stuck even closer to them this time. "Guys!" Liam's yelled higher this time as he watched the bolt also.

"Just give us a second please!" Stiles' voice yelled back.

"Yeah, the two of you just stay in the car okay!" Scott followed after.

"Well I'm definitely not going out there!" Cassidy yelled back. "The both of you get in the car! Now!" Not long after she said those words a bolt came down now in the front of the jeep. "Jesus Christ." She groaned and pulled herself into the front seat to turn the jeep on. As she turned the key the ignition and all its other elements turned back to life as well. With a satisfied smile, she pushed half of her body out of the driver window to look at her two friends standing at the front. "Can you get both of your asses in the car now please?" Scott and Stiles just seemed to look at each other surprised before nodding.

* * *

They just had to leave the two alone together. It's like they wanted avoid the tension so they left the two together. Alone. TOGETHER. To say it was awkward when they picked up Malia on the way to the hospital to drop off Liam would be an understatement. Neither girl knew what to say to each other or how to handle each other. The last time they were in a room together Cassidy had a gun pointed to her head while Malia was ready to rip her to shreds. Totally normal.

But now Scott had left with Liam to find his dad but that was ages ago so Stiles decided to go look for him. And where was Cassidy and Malia? Standing awkwardly next to each other at the nurses' station watching Melissa McCall work on something.

Cassidy wanted to apologize to the girl but she didn't know how to start it. She was tired of the constant bickering between the two and wanted to change that. She knew the werecoyote and Stiles were back to being friends again so she didn't see why the two of them couldn't finally work things out. All she had to do was grasp the courage to actually say the words.

"Can we talk?" Cassidy looked over at the girl finally finding the bravery.

"Sure?" Malia's answer came out as a question; she wasn't sure how this was going to play out either.

Cassidy nodded her head to the left and the two walked down the hall somewhat away from the craziness that was happening in the hospital.

"I don't want Stiles, he is all yours." Malia blurted out as they stopped in one of the out coves.

"What?" Cassidy looked at her confused on why that was brought up.

"You want to tell me that he's your territory right? I mean, you two are disgustingly meant to be together. So you don't have to worry about me getting in the middle again." Malia crossed her arms across her chest, standing her ground.

"Umm, okay." The other continued to blink rapidly still just surprise at her words. "That wasn't exactly what I wanted to talk about, and he is not my territory. I wanted to say that I was sorry about the way things went down a few months ago."

"You mean when you held a gun to my head?"

"Yeah." Cassidy bite her lip in embarrassment. "I shouldn't have done that. At all. I felt horrible for days afterwards…even if you don't believe me."

"I believe you." Malia nodded. "I can smell it on you."

"Right, I guess that's an easier way to find out when people are lying. So…I'm sorry."

"I don't understand." Malia rose an eyebrow at her. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because life is too short to hold grudges for no real reason." Cassidy shrugged her shoulders. "I spent way too many days at the beginning of my therapy angry about who I was, and I can't change that. But I can try to make myself better. I'm just tired of fighting with you for no real reason."

"Okay." The werecoyote nodded, thinking over her words. "You're still going to be sarcastic to me right? Because I think that's my favorite part about you."

The curly haired girl laughed and agreed. "As long as you continue to tell it like it is. People need to do that more in the world."

"So, we're friends now?" Malia asked her as the two walked back over to the nurse station were Mama McCall still sat.

"We're getting there." She leaned her back against the counter as Malia propped her elbows against it. She got out her phone and was hoping to get anything from Lydia but still no service. She sighed and looked over to see Malia tapping on her own phone impatiently. "I can't believe they are waiting for such a last minute deal to let you know if you passed or not."

"Do you think they're waiting so long because I didn't get in? Because I really don't want to do this thing tonight if I'm a senior."

"No, I think Beacon Hills High School just sucks at doing anything on time." Melissa chuckled at how right that statement was. "I'm sure you passed with flying colors."

"I hate waiting." Malia tapped her screen harder, wishing her email would load.

The two turned as they heard Scott and Stiles finally coming back to the station, having some conversation that they had no desire to be filled in on.

"Girls," Stiles got their attention from their phones so the two would pay attention to him, "if you were going away and your boyfriend told you don't worry, go have fun. What would you think he was talk about?"

"Fun like bowling?" Cassidy rose her eyebrow.

"Or sex with other guys?" Malia finished.

Scott did not like that answer one bit. "Okay, yeah, now I'm worried."

"Is this about Kira?" Cassidy whispered up at Stiles who simply just winked back at her as a yes.

Just after, EMTs rushed by with a man on a stretcher who looked severely injured. "Hey Mom," Scott said as Melissa followed behind, "where's all this coming from?"

"Jackknifed tractor trailer on 115 caused a major pile up." She gave a small smile to her son and kept doing her job.

"Okay, there is only one way back into Beacon Hills from the airport." Stiles stated.

"115." Scott sighed.

"Kira's not going to make it."

The alpha stood for a second thinking before his eyes lit up with a solution. "I can get her." He started off down the hallway. "You guys head to the school. Lydia's probably already there. We'll meet you by midnight." He was almost to the doors when Stiles called out.

"How are you going to get to her in the middle of a traffic jam?"

"We'll make it. Trust me." He nodded one last time and he was out of the doors.

"What's he going to do run and then throw her on his back like the dumb scene in Twilight?" Cassidy pocketed her phone.

"Twilight?" Malia questioned.

"Just don't ever watch it. Save yourself."

Stiles sighed, rubbing his forward the way he does when he gets anxious. "We should probably head to the school. You hear from Lydia yet?"

"No. Nothing." Cassidy shook her head.

"Alright. Let's go."

The three ran through the rain to finally get back to the jeep. The ride to the school was quiet, each of the thinking something specific in their heads. Cassidy just for some reason felt so out of place, like she had missed so much the past few weeks that all her friends were steps and bounds in front of her in some way. She knew that wasn't true though she just needed push herself in the right direction like Jesse taught her to.

Stiles and Cassidy hopped out of the Jeep after he parked in front of the school, Malia said she would wait in the car in case she caught sight of the others. The two ran until they were under the first awning out of the rain.

"Still nothing from Lyd." Cassidy check her phone again.

"Yeah, nothing from Scott or Kira either." Stiles sighed and walked forward to lean against the railing.

Cassidy stayed behind him watching his body language. She watched as he look around at all their other classmates running to get inside. She knew that posture he had well. He was overthinking and making himself restless.

"Hey." She stepped forward and grabbed his arm lightly to spin him towards her. "What's going through that head of yours, Stilinski?"

He shrugged with a frown on his face, sticking his hands deep in his pockets. "Anxiety, you know. My constant state 24/7."

"Why is this so important to you?"

"It's not." She could tell he was lying automatically and but didn't say anything knowing he was about to break it all down for her without him even knowing it. "It's just…uhh…I don't know maybe it is." He scratched his neck, all of it now coming undone.

"Stiles…" She grabbed his hand that he was constantly twitching with and he calmed down for the most part.

"I asked my dad the other day about his high school friends. Guess how many he still talks to? None. Not a single one. And you know, these were his best friends and he said he lost touch with them. So, I started thinking about things like I always do."

"Obsessively."

"Yeah." He squeezed her hand tighter. "And so I'm thinking what if…what if Scott's my best friend now, you know, but he's not my best friend for life."

"Maybe he is."

"But maybe he's not. How come when we graduate we're just expected to go our separate ways? If I already found the best people in my life why aren't I not trying to just stay with them?"

She nodded her head understanding where he was coming from. "You know, the day Isaac left I was so angry with him. I didn't understand why he was leaving." She felt herself getting choked up just thinking about it. "Why he was leaving me. And I held a grudge for a little bit because I didn't know what else to do. My best friend…my brother was gone." Cassidy shook her head looking Stiles straight in the eye a small smile forming on her lip. "But he's not really gone, we just have a different relationship now that we have to work harder for. Thantophobia."

"What?" Stiles eyes held pure confusion at the word she just spoke.

"Thantophobia. It's the fear of losing someone you love." Something else she had been taught about during her treatment. "And I thought the plan or dream was for us all to stay together."

"It's the vision." He looked at her like she was disrespecting it. "And don't mock the vision."

"I'm not." She smiled and moved closer to him, pulling her hand away from his so she could hold onto his sides. "I love your vision. I love the fact that you put time and effort into everything about it, just to make sure everyone else is there."

His smile was so small as he looked down at her, caressing her arms slowly. "I also don't want to lose you."

"Where do you see me in your vision?"

"Securely placed right next to me." He answered without even having to think about it. "I'm not letting you go if you let me." The words from her letter coming back to him.

"I promise you, Stiles, I'm not running away this time." She looked up at him as if he was the entire world.

Stiles sucked his lips into his teeth holding back smile. He grazed his hands up her arms and pulled her into his chest. She immediately fell into him again, wrapping her arms tight around his middle.

"You're it for me, Cassidy Snyder." His said, pulling her to him even tighter if possible. He rested his lips against the side of her head giving her a soft kiss.

She felt her cheeks burn from the affection.

"Someone's coming!" Malia ran up behind them, the two of them separating. "Someone fast."

Before Stiles and Cassidy could do anything, Malia turned around and slammed the person running straight to the ground.

"Oh My God!" Stiles exclaimed and pulled Cassidy back as the two watched Liam groan on the ground.

"Scott's in trouble." Liam grunted out, catching his breath.

Malia helped the beta back up off the ground and the four took off running. Stiles and Cassidy followed behind their supernatural friends, the two seeming to be able to find his scent. They finally found their way to the overpass that was by the field. They stopped dead in their tracks as they found a tall man standing over Scott's body, his fingers which they guess had claws on the end, stabbed deep into his chest. It didn't take long though for Scott to regain his strength and break the man's arm, pulling the claws out of his chest.

"I don't know who you are," Scott growled at the man withering in pain on the ground, "or what you thought you were going to do, but I'll give you a choice. You can stay and I'll break something else or you can run."

The tall man looked at all the teenagers surrounding him, pain and annoyance written across his deformed face.

"I'd run!" Stiles called out to him.

He took the advice and went off back into the rain of the night. The pack walked towards each other, Kira giving Cassidy a hug immediately at her return. As she let go of her friend, she finally took notice to another boy that was standing on the other side of the overhang. A smug smile plastered across his face as they all looked at him.

"You don't remember me do you?" He walked closer to them with each word. "I guess I look a little different since the fourth grade."

Scott's eyes sparked with recognition. "Theo?" The boy simply smiled back.

"You know him?" Malia asked Scott.

"They use to." Theo answered for him. "Trust me, I never thought I'd see you guys again. A couple months ago I heard of an Alpha in Beacon Hills. When I found out his name was Scott McCall I just couldn't believe it." He shook his head with a smile. "You're not just an Alpha, but a true Alpha."

"What do you want?" Scott's eyes stayed steady on him.

"To come back to Beacon Hills. Back home with my family, cause I want to be a part of your pack."

* * *

Cassidy didn't remember Theo, but she assumed that was because she had went to a different elementary school than Stiles and Scott as well. But she was pretty iffy about the kid from just a short amount of time together, and she could tell she wasn't the only one.

"We haven't seen this kid in years, and you don't find that highly suspicious?" Stiles questioned Scott as the five seniors finally made their way into school.

"Kinda just more concerned about the guy that just tried to kill me." Scott shrugged his shoulders.

Cassidy took notice to Malia who had just stopped walking in between herself and Kira looking at her phone. "So?"

The two boys stopped now that they noticed the girls weren't following them.

They watched as Malia's face turned from nothing to pure happiness. "I'm in! I passed." The four cheered and passed congratulation hugs around to the girl. "I'm officially a senior."

"Thank god." The five turned at the sound of Lydia's voice, seeing her sliding by teenagers down the hallway to get to where they are. "Where have you guys been? The whole senior class is here."

"Babe, I've been trying to get a hold of you all night." Cassidy smiled at her best friend.

"Well…are we doing this or not?"

The pack nodded and started off down the hallway. They headed to the Library where their class was lining up to put their names in history. As she started high school four years ago so much had happen in that short amount of time. Cassidy Snyder wouldn't have thought she would be where she was now, surrounded by such a cast of people that she never thought would become her best friends.

They were almost at the bookshelf and finally drying off from the rain outside. Stiles stood in front of Cassidy with Lydia behind her, her own bookends that kept her standing.

"How'd earlier go?" Lydia whispered in her ear.

"You mean the full moon or another crazy shape shifter that tried to kill Scott?"

"I mean you and Stiles declaring your undying feelings for each other."

Stiles turned around and glared at the redhead. "I'm standing right here you know?"

"I've been listening to you whining since she left, I deserve to know. Now shut up and get to writing." Lydia pointed to the girl who was trying to give him the marker. He sighed and did as he was told.

Cassidy simply gave her a wink, silently telling her it went well. She smirked at the happy reaction on her friend's face and took the marker from Stiles. She walked forward and looked over all the initials that came before them. She wrote her C.S. in her curly handwriting before passing it on to Lydia. She moved back and stood next to Stiles, leaning slightly into his side as his arm fell across her back. Lydia came to stand next to her and as the others continued to go one by one with Kira, Malia, and finally Scott up.

They watched as Scott hesitated after writing his initials and then underneath wrote A.A. They grew solemn at the thought of their fallen friend. Allison Argent. Scott handed the marker off and moved back to Kira's side among the rest of his friends. Cassidy hooked her arm through Lydia's as she watched the girl's face turn distraught.

"She would have been with us." Stiles nodded his head.

"Yeah." Scott agreed.

Lydia smiled softly at the thought of her. "She still is."

* * *

She was not going to be late on her first day of senior year. She was not going to start off her year that way. Cassidy ran across campus with an iced coffee cup in both of her hands trying to avoid the students that were just taking their goddamn time. And promised Lydia she would meet her at her locker before her one damn class she had that day. She was completely and utterly jealous of her.

But now as she walked through the halls she could feel everyone's eyes on her, but not in a hateful way or why was this girl running way. More in a stunned type and the whispers followed. But to her surprise, it was more of the guy's eyes that were on her than anything, and it was making her more and more self-conscious. Did they know? Did they know she went to a treatment center over the summer? Like why else could they possibly be staring her down? Or maybe it was because of the kidnapping crisis. That might have been it.

Cassidy sighed in appreciation as her eyes landed on Lydia at her locker. She quickly made her way over to her friend's side and leaned against the lockers next to her.

"Everyone is staring at me." She whispered, making the poor Banshee jump in surprise not expecting her to be standing there.

"You're almost late." Lydia smirked and grabbed the cup with an L on it out of her hand. "And what are you talking about."

"Everyone is looking at me. Do you think they know about my…well you know…problem?" Cassidy tucked her curly locks behind her ear.

"Umm…I don't think it's that." She closed her locker before looking at her best friend in a sympathetic way.

"What? What do you mean?"

"So, um," Lydia pulled out her phone and started scrolling through something, "I was so happy you were home that I kinda forgot to show you something."

Cassidy drank from her straw as her eyes scanned nonchalantly around at the other teenagers. But as Lydia pushed the phone in front of her face she nearly spit out her coffee on the ground. "What the fuck!" Grabbed the phone from the strawberry blonde's hand, eyes wide at the article from the local newspaper on the phone. It was a picture of her modeling her mother's clothes with the headline 'Local Girl Making It Big Time'. "How the holy hell did they find out about this?"

"No idea. I guess someone just found the photos online."

"But…but!" Cassidy was starting to freak out. This was supposed to be her secret, and well you know, the select few people that knew. But this was her thing.

"Morning." Stiles walked up to the two girls, frustration in his voice. "I need to talk to the both of you about-"

Cassidy cut him off by spinning around and shoving the phone in his face. "Did you know about this?"

"Woah!" He grabbed the phone, zooming in on the photo. "I mean I knew about the article, but I definitely did not see the photos."

"Oh my god!" Lydia grabbed the phone out of his hands, resisting the urge to smack him. "Put your boner away, this is the not the time. Now, Cas, look at me." She pulled the shell shock girl around to look at her. "So they know you're a model, so what! You are still as kickass as ever and not only are you the envy of every girl in this school, you are now the dream of every guy."

Stiles choked on his own spit over her words. "Really, Lydia!" He threw his arms out.

"You, Cassidy Snyder, are the most amazing person, a kickass friend, and a gorgeous person; inside and out."

Cassidy slowly started to calm down, but she still felt her hand slightly shaking. She knew she should have taken her pills a little bit earlier this morning so that she had time to let them start to react. But she could feel it slowly starting to work, she just needed to calm down. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Cas…you okay?"

She kept her eyes closed and held a finger up to Lydia's question. She needed to get her heart rate back to normal. She could feel Stiles' hand rest safely on her side, since her back was still turned to him. She took one last deep breath before opening her eyes again, the world becoming clearer again. "Sorry, I just get small attacks sometimes."

"It's okay." Stiles whispered so that only the three of them could hear them. "We've got you."

She shook her hair out and took a deep drink of her coffee. "Happy first day of school."

"Hey Cassidy!" The three turned at the call of her name seeing the one person Cassidy wouldn't ever be okay with walking past them. Roberts, the kid who Cassidy punched out at Greenburg's party, smirked at her with a look of hunger in his eye. "Let me know if you ever want to do some personal modeling jobs for me."

Stiles glared at the boy. "Hey Roberts! Why don't you shut up before she gives you another black eye!"

The older boy simply laughed and kept on walking.

"I thought he was supposed to graduate last year?" She almost threw her cup at his head, but didn't want to waste good coffee on him.

"He got held back. Surprise surprise." Lydia rolled her eyes, sending daggers to the boys back. The first bell rang above, reality becoming ever present. "You okay to head to your class?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She smiled at her best friend. "Don't worry about me."

Lydia gave her a wink before giving Stiles a nod, knowing he would get her to her class in one piece.

"Where to, pretty girl?" The boy moved up next to her, holding his arm out for her to take with a smile on his lips.

Cassidy rolled her eyes, but took his arm anyways with her own smirk present. "Art department, please."

The rest of the day didn't get that much better as the morning, but she still got through it. Stiles had asked her to come help with his investigation with Theo, but she lightly had to let him down as she remember she had an appointment with Dr. Stappen immediately after school. So after she lightly pushed Liam in his direction, willingly or not, she didn't feel as bad anymore. Her appointment went well, for the first time in forever. It was an easy talk and it ended quicker than she expected which gave her confidence in knowing she was getting better. One step at a time.

On the way home she took a detour and headed into the direction of Derek's loft. She had heard from Scott that him and Braeden were still out of town, but she still held the key to her old training area. She didn't know for sure why she wanted to go there, but she felt a pull. Pulling the door open she could tell that not much had changed since the last time she was in there, which just so happen to be the breakdown of all breakdowns.

She walked over towards the table by the gigantic wall window that still held the black bag on the table. There was a white piece of paper that was folded up on top of it with a C written. She carefully opened the paper to find a small note inside.

 _When it all gets too much to handle,_

 _Do Good._

 _-B_

She knew it was Braeden. She placed it on the table and then opened the bag to find it loaded with weapons and other things she would need. Cassidy was steady as she picked up the handgun that was on the top. This time would be different. She would train, she would be healthy, and she would get her composure.

She would make Braeden proud of her when she came back. If she had anything in her, it was determination.

Separating the items in the bag, along with fixing up some of the training equipment in the loft, she locked up the door behind her. She would start back up tomorrow morning. She spent the rest of the evening working on homework, wanting to get a head in classes in case of the supernatural events happening which was inevitable nowadays.

After dinner with the family, Cassidy sat outside on her back patio with her computer and college pamphlets surrounding the table. She needed to figure what she was working towards, or for that matter, what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Why at 18 years old did you have to plan out the rest of your life already?

"I hate you. I hate you. Oh…and I definitely hate you." She threw some of the papers across the table and insisted to make up for the colleges that she knew she would not enjoy she blasted Real Friends music just a bit louder.

She heard the backdoor open and just assumed it was one of her parents coming to tell her to turn the music down since it was nearing 9 at night. She was surprised though when she turned around to see Stiles standing there.

"Hey, how'd the stake out go?" Cassidy pushed her hair off of her face so she could see him better in the night.

Stiles shook his head and walked over until he stood at the end of the table across from her. "I want to do something that I don't know if you're ready for or what, but it's something that I need to show you."

"Okay?" She agreed, confused on where he was going with this.

He stalked over to her quickly, leaned down and just kissed her.

They stayed still for a second, Stiles wondering if he went too far and Cassidy shell shocked. When she felt him start to pull away, that was when her body awakened and she grabbed handfuls of his hoodie, keeping him in place. He gripped ahold of her arms and pulled her up off the chair so she stood chest to chest to him.

Stiles careful pulled his lips inches away from hers, her eyes looking up at him with love soaking in. "Are you okay with this-"

Cassidy didn't allow him to finish, swallowing his words against her lips. She felt his body react again, his hands coming to rest against her hips and lower back. The press of their lips wasn't lustful nor hurried. It was tender, the taste of bliss and love and sweetness. Her hands lay against his neck and collar bone to feel his soft skin mixed with the start of his stubble. Their kiss held all of their emotions that have been missed since their last kiss happen, far too long ago for either to ever want to admit.

Stiles' senses filled with her creamy-like perfume varied with her always candy sweet taste she still held. His teeth tugged at her lower lip, his tongue sweeping into her ready mouth so easily it was as if she was waiting for it. He treasured the small appreciative moan pulling from the back of her throat as their tongues danced around each other.

They still kept things soft though, his hands not daring to go past the hem of her tank top that rose up from her stretching to meet him. They felt simply intimate in their own closed off world.

She pulled away first, their lips red and swollen. She could feel heated desire in his deep honey eyes staring down at her, falling so deep into him. "Is that all you needed to show me?"

"No." He shook his head, hushed whispered between the two. "There's much more of that."

"Good." She beamed up at him. Cassidy sat back down, pulling him with her so he sat in the chair next to her. "Now tell me about what happen tonight?"

"It's not that interesting." He raised his hand to rub the back of his neck.

"What happen to your hand?" Cassidy grabbed his right hand and lightly touched the red, swollen skin.

"Nothing." He shook his head and lightly pulled it away from her.

"Stiles, if we're going to do this…than no more hiding things from each other."

Said boy nodded his head, letting it fall down to his chest. "Basically in short terms, Liam and I watched Theo at his house do nothing but play video games, then followed him into the woods where we watched him throw flowers into the creek for his sister."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, very embarrassing. Theo caught up with us, he says he came back here for friendship more than anything. And we then found Scott waiting for Liam and me at my Jeep." Some sort of anger present in his voice.

"What happen?" She carefully grabbed his hand again, wanting to give him comfort.

"We got into a fight…because I don't trust anyone and he trusts literally everyone. And it just really pisses me off sometimes. And I…I just got so angry that I punched the jeep." The end of his sentence so quiet that if she was a few more inches away from him she wouldn't have heard it.

She didn't say anything, just nodded. She knew it would be better to say nothing. Cassidy raised his hand to her mouth and let her lips traces kisses across his knuckles.

He watched her with devotion, but a little shyness in there. "You're not going to say that what I did was stupid? Or that I'm crazy for thinking something's weird about Theo?"

"Stiles, you're not crazy or stupid or anything like that. You're human. And if you think there is something strange about Theo, than I'm with you. Completely. Us humans got to stick together."

He smiled and leaned into to kiss her once again. "Thanks. So, what are you doing?" He looked at all the papers across the table next to the laptop.

"Trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do after high school, since the school thinks all I can do is model in front of a damn camera and be an emotional rollercoaster." She ran her fingers angrily through her curly hair.

"Hey!" Stiles carefully placed his hand on the side of her neck and moved her head until she finally looked him in the eye. "You are more than what those stupid kids think of you. Don't let them get into your head. Okay?"

She softly smiled and nodded. Pecking his lips again. She didn't want to stop kissing him. He pulled away from her and grabbed her computer, typing something into the search engine. Once he found the right page he was looking for, Stiles pushed the computer back in front of her.

"Academy of Art University?" She asked him confused, looking at the website that had photography scrolling across it.

"It has Fashion, Art, Music Production, and is located a few blocks away from The Fillmore and Bottom of the Hill." Stiles stated matter of factly. "It's 45 minutes from Stanford and an hour and a half away from UC Davis."

She looked through the website with bright eyes. Everything looked so fascinating.

"You don't have to like it. It's just something I saw when I was searching through."

Her smile was so large as she grabbed the sides of his face to kiss him hard on the lips. "I fucking love you."

* * *

HELLO STYDER FANS! We are back in business baby!

This season looks like it's going to be pretty intense so I'm so excited! Have fun watching the new episode tonight!

 **Please Read. Review. Follow. All that stuff!**


End file.
